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MILITARY RECORD 

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ATION 



,Jay L.ToK'K'i:^ 



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Brother Linn 






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MILITARY RECORD 

and 

AN APPRECIATION 

of 

Robert Augustus Torrey 

by his 

Brother Linn 



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ROBERT AUGUSTUS TORREY 
October 4, 1839 July 20, 1916 



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ROBERT AUGUSTUS TORREY was stricken with 
apoplexy at the Army and Navy Club in New York 
City on June 3, 1916. A comrade in the next suite 
heard him fall and went at once to his aid. He was removed 
to the Polyclinic Hospital and was attended by an eminent 
physician who had been his good friend for years. 

Professional nurses served in relays of two, so that every 
moment of time, day and night, his every want had imme- 
diate attention. 

Three days after the stroke he was operated upon for 
the relief of the blood pressure. During a part of the suc- 
ceeding period he was conscious. He never suffered any 
pain. 

On Thursday, July 20, in the afternoon he fell asleep 
and did not awaken. The funeral and interment were at 
Pittsfield, Illinois, 

Near relatives survive him, as follows: 

Mrs. Mar\' R. Darby, of St. Louis, an adopted niece. 

Mrs. Lottie T. Irvine, of Philipsburg, Montana, an 
adopted sister. 

Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. Rice, U. S. A., of Washington, 
D. C, the son of his deceased sister, Mrs. Aurelia R. Rice. 

Doctor H. N. Torrey and Miss Bernice M. Torrey, both 
of Detroit, Michigan, and both the children of his deceased 
brother. Doctor Bartlett N. Torrey, and 

Colonel Jay L. Torrey, of Fruitville, Missouri, his only 
brother. 



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THE APPRECIATION 



THE parents of our family were Amos Root and 
Minerva Lucretia Norton Torrey and the children 
were Everill Francis Marion, Aurelia Root, Robert 
Augustus, Bartlett Norton and Jay Linn Torrey. 

My recollections of Brother Rob fall into three groups. 
The first relates to the days when, as a big brother, he 
used to tease me; the second when he was the war hero of 
our family; and the third, to the many years during which 
we were gray-haired chums. 

Brother Rob risked his life, and came near losing it, 
in an endeavor, as he thought, to save mine when I was 
but two and he fifteen j^ears old. We were then living in 
Pittsfield, Illinois, and our father had bought a farm three 
miles in the country. The team and wagon had been 
brought to the front of the house preparatory to the men 
folks going to the farm. While preparations were being 
made I was put on the seat of the wagon, with a boy to 
take care of me; the boy left me in the wagon alone for a 
moment, and as I had recently learned to cluck I proceeded 
to do so, with the result that the team ran around the 
lot and through an alley behind the house. Hearing the 
rattle of the wagon, Brother Rob ran out of the house, 
jumped the fence into the alley ahead of the team and 
grabbed one of the horses by the bridle, only to be jerked 
against a post and his hold broken, and then run into by 
the hub of the wagon wheel while the runaway continued. 
Old folks who witnessed the mad ride used to tell me how 
they saw a baby bounce above the wagon bed, then again 
articles in the wagon and sometimes both at once. Finally 
the kingpin bounced out and the wagon-box and hind 
wheels were left behind. When some dear women reached 
the spot they found an unhurt baby who, upon being taken 
in arms, began to laugh. 

The result of brother's heroic efforts to save me was 
that both of his thighs were dislocated when he was run 
into by the wagon. At that time the accepted method of 
setting a dislocated thigh was to pull the leg until it was 



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the same length as the other one. But here was a case in 
which both thighs were dislocated, and there was no meas- 
ure for guidance. The doctors tied him to a bed, put pulleys 
on his ankles and pulled his legs until his screams were 
heard in the neighborhood. After the pulling he was held 
in that position the rest of the day, that night, and part of 
the next day. Then the doctors concluded that they had 
pulled his legs too far, and hence released the pulleys and 
pushed them back. After a day they pulled his legs again. 
Yet he did not become a cripple! On the contrary, he was 
all through life a strong, vigorous man. The fact that he 
had risked his life for me and, in consequence, had suffered 
greatly, constituted a tie between us, in after years, in 
addition to that of kinship. 

My earliest recollection of brother relates to an event 
when I was less than four years old, and still in dresses. 
My father was lying in the shade of the house, and had put 
his feet up against the wall. I lay down beside him and 
tried to put my feet up as high as his, but not succeeding 
called to brother Rob, who was passing, to help me. fie 
did so by taking hold of both my ankles and putting my 
feet as high up as father's, with the result that I did not 
touch the ground and my little dress fell over my head and 
1 cried lustily to be let down. I distinctly remember the 
laughter occasioned by my embarrassment. 

Another memory belongs to the time when I was barely 
large enough to ride horseback. I was driving the cows 
from the pasture to the barn, perched upon a horse with 
high withers and a protruding backbone. Brother Rob 
was crossing the pasture for some purpose that I inferred 
was unfriendly to myself. I tried to escape by urging the 
horse to a gallop. But Rob outran the horse, and catching 
him by the tail swung him from side to side until he slowed 
down to a trot, when he sprang up behind me, lay down 
upon me, and made the horse gallop again, only to hear me 
yell and protest, much to his merriment. 

When the Stars and Stripes were confronted with 
another flag in 1861 and the fifes and drums sounded the 
call, Rob joined at once the defenders of the Union. Mr. 



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John G. Nicolay, who together with Mr. John Hay served 
as private secretary to President Lincoln, secured for my 
brother an appointment in the regular army as second 
lieutenant. Later he was promoted to be first lieutenant, 
and afterwards captain. His entire service was with the 
13th U. S. Infantry— "Sherman's Old Regiment." 

Although Rob heard the roar of cannon and the rattle 
of musketry, he did not glory in fighting. Having a duty, 
he simply performed it as was becoming to a patriot. 

At the close of the civil war he remained in the army. 
After his promotion to a captaincy he had some trouble 
with his Colonel. I do not now recall what the trouble 
was, but know that it was of an official character, not 
relating to any act of omission or commission on his part, 
for my brother was not then nor at any time before nor 
thereafter placed in arrest. During the continuance of the 
trouble the several companies were assigned to different 
posts in the West. The Colonel, of course, determined the 
distribution, and I presume it was only human on his part 
to send my brother with his company to the military post 
he considered the least desirable. This was in Northern 
Wyoming, at Lander. Soon afterward the War Department 
ordered my brother to move the post to the Indian Reser- 
vation. He selected a site about fifteen miles from Lander, 
which was then named Camp Brown, and afterwards Fort 
Washakie. 

Hostile Indians were at that time occasionally making 
raids, and he had not only to protect the settlers from 
them, but to complete the buildings of the new post before 
winter set in. An officer who served with him at that 
time told me afterward of an occasion when the men 
determined to mutiny. They were not overworked, but 
because of the exigencies of the situation were required 
to work full hours. The mutiny related to shortening the 
hours. My brother learned of it through a Sergeant, who 
came to his tent and reported that the men were going to 
quit work two hours before sundown. Brother asked no 
questions as to what the men proposed to do, but simply 
answered, "That is all, Sergeant; go and tell the black- 



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smith that I want to see him." When the blacksmith came, 
he was told to lay aside the work he was then doing and 
go to making handcuffs. The men did not stop work at 
the appointed time, and there was never any use for the 
handcuffs ! 

The assignment to Wyoming proved a great blessing in 
disguise to my brother, as it resulted in financial prosperity 
to him and later on to me. Rob loved to hunt and fish. He 
inquired of friendly Indians where buffalo, bear, deer, elk 
and antelope were most plentiful and in the best condition, 
and was told that they were always fat on Owl Creek, and 
fish were also plentiful. He went there and found these 
representations true. 

While serving at Fort Washakie he bought some cattle 
and employed a man to drive them to Wind River and 
look after them. Three or four years later, and subsequent 
to his being ordered with his company to another post, I 
bought a herd of cattle for him in Nevada and had them 
driven to Owl Creek. Next year I moved those he already 
owned on Wind River to Owl Creek. 

Brother Rob did not fully realize how his cattle interests 
had grown, until, as the result of my work for these two 
years, the herd was counted and classified, and the beef 
shipped to market. I remember his saying when I made 
my report: "Why should a man with an annual income 
of $25,000 quarrel with a private over a speck of dust on 
his gun ? I think I will resign." At an early date thereafter 
he did so. Had he continued in the service he would have 
retired as a Major General, long before his death. 

My brother kept a daily diary for many years. It is a 
modest statement of a well-spent life. 

After resigning he devoted himself, in the main, to 
managing his herd of cattle, and making investments in 
different parts of the country. He never aspired to public 
life, nor did he ever hold oflice except in the regular army. 

Brother was skilled in horsemanship, and though he 
never rode as a cowboy during his ranch days, he was an 
expert in the handling of cattle. 



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At the time of the early boom in Dulutli he and a brother 
officer bought town lots there. Later he went to Duluth to 
personally look after them, with the result that he stayed 
to erect the Torrey Office Building and to make other real 
estate investments. 

That brother was a just man in business matters is 
attested by the fact that there is not an unpaid claim nor 
a suit pending at this time. 

My brother was singular in this, that he took great 
pleasure in making money and giving it away, but not in 
spending it. His economies offended those who thrive 
from the patronage of spendthrifts. 

His sympathy with members of our family was con- 
tinuous and dependable. In solicitude for our well-being 
he was like a mother; and in financial matters like a father 
to us. He had spanked me occasionally w^hen I was little, 
and I am sure he always felt, even in our gray-haired days, 
that he ought to do so when he disapproved of my trans- 
actions. Our intimacy was such that my plans were sub- 
ject to his revision. Many times I disregarded his advice 
with disastrous financial results; but he never said, "I told 
you so!" He was always ready, instead, to lend a hand to 
enable me to recoup my losses. 

While with his round-up outfit some j^ars after the 
founding of the M-herd I suffered a fracture of one of the 
bones of my left leg. He went with me in a buggy one 
hundred and sixty-five miles to a doctor for treatment. 
During that trip he suggested that I buy his cattle and horse 
herds and ranches; and the next year he sold them to me 
entirely on credit, upon terms the liberality of which I have 
never known to be equaled. The entire "outfit" was deliv- 
ered to me, but the price was left to be fixed by us ten 
years afterwards, in view of what those ten years should 
prove to have been the real worth of the property at the 
time of the purchase. If during this interval the cattle and 
horses should freeze or starve to death on the range, I was 
not to owe him any sum for them. The success of the 
business was such that at the end of the sixth year I paid 
him in cash his valuation of the property and had left the 
ranches and herds of horses and cattle. 



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He was tender with a gentleness that would have become 
a woman. I hope it will not seem unkind to others to say 
that I doubt if those not born of the same parents could 
reahze the depth of sympathy, affection and consideration 
of which he was capable. No matter how much you 
expected of him you were sure not to be disappointed. 

I know that he regretted having missed the joy of hold- 
ing in his arms children born of a woman he loved. I 
remember as if it were but yesterday an occasion on which 
he and I were going to dinner at the old Southern Hotel 
in St. Louis. As we entered the dining-room we met a man 
and a little girl coming out. She was eight or nine years 
old and beautifully dressed. She was holding her father's 
hand as she walked by his side, and just at the moment 
was looking up at him with a sweet smile. After they had 
passed Rob turned to me and said, "Linn, there is one 
thing I would love to have that money will not buy. A 
little girl who thinks 'Pop' knows everything." 

He was a clean man in mind and morals. To me, as 
brother, chum and client, he never spoke a word or told 
a story that might not with propriety have been heard by 
our mother. If he knew a scandal to the discredit of others 
he never repeated it. I do not remember ever hearing him 
speak ill of man, woman or child. I know he never spoke 
ill of any woman. His conviction was that "if he could not 
speak good of a person, he could at least keep silent." 

Occasionally we talked in a light-hearted way about 
matrimony. On an occasion I remember that I said to 
him, "Brother, as an orphan and bachelor, I should be 
delighted to occupy the spare room in your house." He 
simply smiled and answered, "I am like you." From all 
standpoints it is to be regretted that the heart of some 
woman did not join his in beating the lullaby of love. 

My brother had very unusual opportunities for the for- 
mation of delightful friendships, as he was not hampered 
by business, fraternal or political relations which had the 
shghtest influence upon the question. As a bachelor and 
a gentleman of leisure he traveled wherever inclination 
prompted, and by timely trips avoided the extremes of 



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climatic conditions. He did not form a very large circle 
of friends, but the circle contained only gentlefolks of 
education and refinement. 

I do not wish it understood that I consider my brother 
as other than flesh and blood in human form; but 1 am sure 
that all who knew him will agree that he was a wonderful 
bit of clay. Those who were noisy and who loved parade 
knew him not. The world is full of meritorious men. I 
have known thousands of them, but never one of his pattern 
— one who was at the same time so modest and capable; 
who thought so accurately; and w^ho could be so absolutely 
trusted to deal generously, even with his opponents. 

From the standpoint of the wrong-doer Rob was not 
"in his class." 1 sometimes thought him exacting; but from 
the viewpoint of God-fearing, intelligent and patriotic 
people, he was a good citizen. He always tried to be right 
— not in imitation of others, not to curry favor, but right 
for right's sake. He espoused only causes which had the 
support of his moral convictions, and hence was always 
strong. His methods were his own, not copied from 
anyone, and not literally imitated by anyone, so in his death 
a vacancy is created that will not be tilled. 

During many years we had an annual visit, in the course 
of which we talked over family matters as well as social 
and business affairs. Our mutual understanding was such 
that we could sometimes communicate without recourse to 
written or spoken words. I recall that once he said to me, 
"Linn, I have thought out a new financial scheme in con- 
nection with the Torrey Building." I interrupted with, 
"Wait a minute, Rob, until 1 tell you what it is," and then 
proceeded to outline the scheme, very much to his sur- 
prise. When asked to explain how I had learned of it, I 
could only say, "I suppose I obtained it by mental telep- 
athy." 

Our annual visits never passed without my learning, 
quite by accident, of some deed of charity or kindness 
extended by him of which I had not heard before. Some- 
times it related to aid given the young who were struggling 
for an education, sometimes to the payment of mortgages 



that were being pressed, and sometimes to the keeping of 
families under their roofs. If it is true that it is more 
blessed to give than to receive, I do not know of a man who 
was more blessed than he. 

The way his heart beat is well shown by his direction 
that a substantial sum be given to the Oneida Institute, a 
Christian school founded by the Rev. J. A. Burns at Oneida, 
Kentucky, in the Cumberland Mountains, forty miles from 
a railroad. This institute appealed to my brother because 
it was founded for the betterment of the Anglo-Saxon 
freemen who live in those mountains, and are among the 
most reliable patriots in the country. In acknowledging 
the receipt of this gift, Mr. Burns wrote: "The sum which 
was given by your brother certainly saved the life of our 
institution." 

All of his numerous remembrances, except to the Oneida 
Institute, were to individual men, women and children. 

While it was true that we were literally chums for 
a long series of years, more years than are included in 
the average lifetime of man, he was always the leader — 
the big brother. From the day he sprang over the fence 
and faced death in trying to save me, to the day he fell 
asleep not to awaken, ourrelationship was the same. This 
was true of our mental as well as our physical development. 
Physically, he had many years the start of me. Intel- 
lectually, no matter how hard I might try I could never 
overtake him. Whatever success I attained at whatever 
stage of life, it was to find that he had already reached 
and passed that goal before me. 

The desolation I feel can be known only to those whose 
fate it has been to live to see each member of their happy 
family group pass on along the silent road that stretches 
between life and eternity. 

The character and achievements of my brother can be 
summarized in a few words — He was a good man. 

Fruitville, Missouri, January 15, 1917. 



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WAR DEPARTMENT, 

THE ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE. 



STATEMENT OF THE MILITARY SERVICE OF 

ROBERT AUGUSTUS TORREY 

Appointed 2d Lieutenant 13th Infantry .February 19, 1862 

Promoted 1st Lieutenant June 18, 1862 

Promoted Captain June 19, 1866 

Resigned May 7 , 1882 

S e rv i c e : 

He Joined his regiment in April, 1862, and served with it 
at Alton, Illinois, to June, 1862; at Newport Barracks, 
Kentucky, to September, 1862; on recruiting service to July, 
1863; with regiment in the field at General Sherman's Head- 
quarters to November, 1864; at Nashville, Tennessee, to 
February, 1865; at Newport Barracks, Kentucky, to May, 1865; 
at Camp Dennison, Ohio, to September, 1865; at Jefferson 
Barracks, Missouri, to October, 1865; at Port Leavenworth, 
Kansas, to May, 1866; at Port Rice, Dakota, to July, 1867; at 
Port Shaw, Montana, to June, 1868; being also A.A.A.G. Dis- 
trict of Upper Missouri, June, 1866, to July, 1867--District 
of Montana, July, 1867, to June, 1868; on leave June to 
November, 1868, awaiting opening of navigation to June, 1869; 
at Port Benton, Montana, to August, 1869; Port Shaw, Montana, 
to June, 1870; at Port Pred Steele, Wyoming, to May, 1871; 
at Camp Brown, Wyoming, to October, 1874; at New Orleans, 
Louisiana, to June, 1875; at Vicksburg, Mississippi, to 
November, 1875; at New Orleans, Louisiana, to July, 1876; 
in Kentucky and Pennsylvania during the labor strikes to 
December, 1876; at Jackson Barracks, Louisiana (at Atlanta, 
Georgia, June to November, 1879), to June, 1880; at Port 
Lewis, Colorado, to May 7, 1881, and on leave to May 7, 
1882, when he resigned. 

He commanded a company of the Pirst Battalion, Thirteenth 
Infantry, at the Battle of Colliersville, Tennessee, October 
11, 1863, and was in action against Indians at Marias 
River, Montana, January 23, 1870, and at Camp Brown, 
Wyoming, June 26, 1871. He was also Quartermaster of his 
regiment March 1, 1865, to June 19, 1866. 

H. P. McCAIN, 
Washington, D. C, The Adjutant General. 

October 6, 1916. 



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